Jia Xiu Had Never Fought Such a Well-Funded Battle

Jia Xiu looked at the three Devil Pacts.

The first two seemed perfectly normal: a magical pet and a magical weapon. They should directly improve combat ability.

But his top priority right now was not combat.

Besides, he did not know how to use weapons. Blades, swords, spears, staves—he did not know a single technique.

As for magical pets, he had no interest in raising animals. More precisely, he had no interest in raising real pets. Back when he worked, he had installed desktop pets on his computer and even modified their code himself. Interacting with them while slacking off had been pretty fun.

So for Jia Xiu, the only real option was the last one: the magic grimoire.

But this Book Pact...

"Automatically corrects and supplements rune formations."

Was that right?

As he remembered it, the Book Pact should have been a magic grimoire capable of recording and using spells from other classes.

This modified version was useful only to spellcasters who spent all day figuring out how to alter spells.

And Jia Xiu happened to be one of them.

[Select Book Pact]

[Confirm]

The instant he confirmed his choice, a hexagram magic circle outlined in magical power appeared before him. Silvery-white flames rose up, and fluttering pages condensed within the blaze, as though the process of a book burning was being reversed.

A few seconds later, the flames went out, and a sturdy book landed in his hands.

Jia Xiu examined the magic grimoire. It looked exceedingly plain, not even as refined as an experimental instruction manual.

But a book's worth was not in its cover.

He opened it and found that one spell had already been recorded inside. It was used to summon the book and erase all other content within it.

It also noted the enchantments placed on the book: non-contract holders could not use its special functions; if it remained separated from its contract holder for one day, it would automatically self-destruct; and one day after it was destroyed, it could be summoned again.

It was safe to say every consideration had been covered.

Jia Xiu decided to test its main function first.

The moment he began writing the runes for Basic Healing Spell, he immediately noticed what made this book different.

When he had drawn only half a rune, the book identified which runes it might be and offered several autocomplete options.

And when he deliberately drew a rune incorrectly, it immediately marked the erroneous rune in red.

It was so convenient that Jia Xiu was almost touched.

This was not a magic grimoire. It was an editor and debugger.

Whenever he had made mistakes while modifying spells before, figuring out exactly where the problem lay in the step from code to runes often meant spending an entire day tracking down a single bug with nothing but a cup of tea and no cigarettes.

There had been no other way besides staring at it.

Jia Xiu now understood the advancement path of his unconventional Warlock class.

Once he leveled up further, he could probably piece together a complete set of integrated development environment tools.

After unlocking the new Devil Pact, Jia Xiu began assigning his two attribute points.

He put one point into Perception.

It was the most important attribute for discovering where a spell could be adjusted, so it took priority.

He did not put the other point into Intelligence. His Intelligence was sufficient for now, so he put it into Constitution instead.

The body was the foundation of research. There was no harm in adding some to it.

More importantly, Constitution +1 would unlock a talent.

[Attributes: Strength 4 / Agility 3 / Constitution 5 / Intelligence 8 / Perception 8 / Charisma 4]

[Constitution has reached 5. Unlocked "Energetic."]

[From now on, you need only 4 hours of sleep each day to remain Energetic. When you need to sleep, you can fall asleep quickly and reliably, and gain a certain degree of immunity to hypnotic effects.]

Jia Xiu had coveted this god-tier ability for a long time.

Sleeping only four hours a day while also being able to fall asleep quickly—he had only ever seen an ability like that in success literature.

Back in high school, six hours of sleep a day had been enough to make him walk into utility poles in broad daylight. If he did not sleep ten hours a day, he simply could not guarantee that he would stay awake.

Now, it was equivalent to gaining six extra hours of research time every day. Every four days gave him an extra full day. It could not have been more useful.

Jia Xiu looked at the clock in the laboratory. Normally, he would have gone to sleep in another three hours, and he would already be getting drowsy at this hour. Now, though, it felt like he had an abundance of time.

He left the laboratory, locked the door, and headed straight for the association's library. At level 3, as an official association member, he finally qualified to borrow books.

The experience requirement for reaching level 4 was much higher than before. He needed more spells worth researching.

The Creekwood Town Spellcasters' Association's library was not large, and it had few books in its collection. There were only eight bookshelves in total. At most, it could be called a reading room. Calling it a library was simply putting on airs.

Every bookshelf bore a label indicating the spellbooks' levels.

Half of them held level 0 cantrips, two shelves held level 1 spells, and the remaining two held level 2 and level 3 spells respectively. The highest level available was only level 3.

It was overflowing with "starter village" vibes.

But for Jia Xiu, who had only just reached LV3, this was enough.

According to the feedback from Detection Spell, the spells here all had roughly the same research value, so Jia Xiu chose based on his own interests.

"Basic Activation Spell, a relative of Healing Spell. It can speed up metabolism and relieve fatigue. I'll take one."

"Acid Splash. Fires a ball of acid that deals corrosive damage. Taking it."

"Light Spell. How could a spellcaster not know Light Spell? One of those too."

"Darkvision seems pretty useful as well..."

"Mage Armor..."

Jia Xiu was like a shark accidentally hauled aboard a fishing boat, with nothing but "food" as far as the eye could see.

Before long, he arrived at the borrowing desk carrying a stack of spellbooks, startling the staff member on duty.

"You're borrowing so many at once. Can you finish learning them?"

The staff member asked uncertainly. If Mage Margaret had not instructed the association to look after Jia Xiu, he would have suspected that Jia Xiu was here to borrow a pile of books and run off with them.

"If I can't finish learning them, I'll just read them to broaden my horizons."

Jia Xiu answered casually.

In truth, he was quite confident that he could learn all of them. With the help of Rune Eye, he learned new spells far faster than ordinary spellcasters.

Spells that ordinary apprentices needed two or three months to master took him only a dozen or so days.

"All right. May the elements guide you."

As he spoke, the staff member stamped Jia Xiu's borrowing card with a magical seal.

Hugging the books he had borrowed, Jia Xiu was as excited as a player who had just bought a long-awaited new game. He hurried back to the laboratory, eager to "download the game" into his mind.

He would have plenty to keep him busy for a while...

Meanwhile, at the Creekwood Town lord's manor.

Even the heavy solid-wood door of the room on the south side of the second floor could not block the miserable screams coming from inside.

"Ah—gently, ah! It hurts, it hurts! Wait, let me catch my breath first. Is there any wine...?"

Inside the room, Hannas lay half-reclined on the bed, drenched in sweat and gasping heavily. He grabbed a bottle and took several huge gulps, but the pain on his face did not ease in the slightest.

"Lord Hannas, are you ready?"

At his feet stood a hunter holding a sharp knife.

As for why it was a hunter rather than a physician, it was because the best physician in town had already come.

There had been no particularly good treatment for Hannas's toenail. The physician's proposed solution was to pull it out completely.

That had terrified Hannas, and he had firmly refused.

Later, he had sought out a Cleric. But the Cleric's healing blessing could only reduce the swelling in his toe; it could not solve the root problem. The nail remained lodged there, and the toe would swell up again a couple of hours after treatment.

In his despair, he learned that a hunter knew how to treat this condition.

Using a narrow, pointed knife, the hunter would cut away the parts of the toenail that had curved inward, then stuff cotton into the nail groove so that the newly growing sides of the nail would be cushioned by the cotton and no longer dig deeply into the groove.

It still required a knife, but it sounded better than pulling out the entire toenail.

"I'm ready."

Hannas clenched his teeth and repeatedly tried to steel himself.

You're a tough man. You're a tough man...

"Then I'm cutting."

The hunter tightened his grip on the knife.

"Ah, Mommy...!"

Hannas screamed himself hoarse, his voice carrying a sob.

A few minutes later.

The hunter put away his pointed knife. Several hook-shaped pieces of toenail, stained with pus and blood, had been successfully removed.

"Congratulations, my lord. The treatment was very succe... Lord Hannas!"

Hannas's head had tilted to one side on the bed. His gaze was dull and empty, and his shirt was soaked through.

He appeared to be in decent condition, but in truth, his consciousness had been gone for quite some time.

Only after resting for ten minutes did Hannas's eyes barely regain focus.

He beckoned over his most trusted personal servant.

"Contact the cultists outside town. Have them kidnap that man called Jia Xiu. Sacrifice him or use him as an experiment—it doesn't matter. There's only one requirement."

Hannas said through gritted teeth, "I want him dead!"